“Everything seemed so lush, almost tropical – and everything seemed woven from the sun. Leaves, the earth, the stems of the plants […] So Riva: and there the lake sparkled in the sun. […] For him, Riva was beautiful. First of all, the ancient tower with its large blue facade with the clock rose up at the quay of the lake […] There was the lake, alive and marbled, with its blue-black transparent water, rather dark, so alive. And there were boats with bright yellow sails and red and orange sails, and boats with two white sails […] And there was cordiality, a sparkle, a delightful ease beyond belief, southern in its ease, and Nordic in its charm alert.”